Whistleblower News From The Inside -- January 12, 2017
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Shire Pharmaceuticals settles six FCA cases for $350M – Shire Pharmaceuticals LLC, and other subsidiaries of Irish-headquartered Shire PLC, settled allegations the companies employed kickbacks and other inducements in exchange for physicians and clinics overusing its product, Dermagraft, a human skin substitute used for treatment of diabetic ulcers. DOJ
Meningitis-linked pharmacy used fake names, decades-old drugs – Prosecutors in the ongoing trial of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy linked to a deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak alleged the pharmacy used long-expired drugs and filled orders under blatantly fake names including Miles Davis, Donald Trump, Wayne Gretzky, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Tom Brady. Metro West Daily News
Mondelēz settles FCPA charges for $13M – Illinois-based food, candy, and beverage company Mondelēz International—whose portfolio includes Oreo, Cadbury, and Tang—settled foreign bribery allegations related to payments made to secure licenses and approvals to expand its factory in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, India. Confectionary News
Missouri-based government contractor settles FCA case for $4M – ICP Medical settled allegations it overcharged the VA and DOD for surgical gowns, sheets, and scrubs. It also bought several of its products, such as body bags, from China, removed “made in China” designations and passed them off as US products, in violation of so-called Buy America contract provisions. St. Louis Business Journal
UK FX traders face US extradition despite SFO clearance – The US seeks to extradite three British traders charged in New York with rigging foreign-exchange rates, in spite of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office’s declination to prosecute the men after a major investigation. Bloomberg
Defendant in two pending FCA cases sentenced to 235 months in prison – Detroit-area neurosurgeon Aria Sabit was sentenced for his role in a $2.8M healthcare fraud scheme involving billing Medicare for services never performed; two FCA cases against Dr. Sabit are currently pending in California’s Central District. USAO Eastern District of Michigan